


Adventure on Four Wheels

by Metal_Chocobo



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Car Chases, F/F, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-26 11:45:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20389171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metal_Chocobo/pseuds/Metal_Chocobo
Summary: Webby and Lena go for a test drive in Webby's dream car, a Cheep Wrangler.





	Adventure on Four Wheels

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to [stellarer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarer/profile) for the beta. Totally did not forget to initially mention that.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve spent so much time in the back of a limo now that I’m sick of them,” Lena said as she thumped her head against the back of the plush red seats in Scrooge’s second best limo.

“Yeah, there’s a certain attraction to being able to drive yourself wherever you want,” Webby sighed.

“I can’t stress how great being able to drive yourself is,” Launchpad agreed. “Getting my license was one of my best decisions ever. Definitely recommend it!”

“I’ve already got my license,” Webby mumbled.

“So, why don’t you get a car?” Lena asked. “Surely you can afford it.”

“Okay, Scrooge is rich. I’m not,” Webby said, “While I technically have a modest trust fund from him, Granny is still the conservator on that until I reach a responsible age and she wouldn’t approve of me buying a car. At least not while Launchpad is still able to chauffeur us while also taking care of Mr. McDuck.”

“Yeah, but we’re in college now, our schedules won’t stay this predictable for that long. What are we going to do when Scrooge needs Launchpad for an adventure that has them gone for the better part of a week? There’s no way you’d willingly miss that many lectures, labs, discussions, and—”

“—okay, I get your point! Would you stop already? I’m getting anxious just thinking about that many missed commitments.” Webby took several deep breaths and checked her pulse. “You’ve raised a number of valid points, Lena, and I agree with them, but I doubt Granny would. She’d probably simply insist we use our student bus passes, even if it’s an almost two hour commute.”

“Yeah, I can see her doing that.”

“You’re Uncle Scrooge’s actual ward, which puts you in a far better position to buy me a car than I actually am,” Webby continued. “So if you really want me to have a car, then you ought to buy me one yourself.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

The words took a moment to process for Webby and by the time she glanced over at Lena the other duck’s focus was directed out the window onto the city streets. However, she could still see a small smirk on Lena’s beak and it was clear she was waiting for one of Webby’s typical outbursts. So instead of screaming and flailing about for several minutes as she processed Lena’s statement out loud Webby silently pulled Lena into a bone-crushing hug. This was more than simple hyperbole, as Webby heard a crack.

She immediately let go and stammered out an apology. She sometimes lost control of her strength when she was excited and Lena was rather fragile due to her former existence as a shadow creature. Non-corporeal existence made for even more delicate bones than those found in the average bird. To her surprise, instead of gritting her teeth in pain Lena was laughing hysterically.

“Oh no, the pain’s made you giddy, hasn’t it?” Webby groaned. “I’m so sorry, Lena!”

“No, it’s okay,” Lena giggled. She fished around a breast pocket Webby hadn’t noticed and eventually pulled out a pair of partial pencils. “You snapped these, not my bones. Believe me, Pink, I’d let you know you were hurting me long before you broke bone.”

“Promise?” Webby asked.

“Promise.”

Before either woman could remember their previous topic of conversation there was a squealing of tires and a sudden impact that would have sent them to the floor if it weren’t for their seatbelts. Launchpad then shouted an apology out the window. They had arrived on campus. All three piled out of the car to survey the damage from the most recent crash.

“I’ll catch you at lunch?” Lena asked.

“Of course,” Webby said. 

Lena bent down and lightly pecked her on the beak. In the moment it took Webby to recover from the public display of affection from her girlfriend said girlfriend was gone. Which was Lena’s MO when it came to any show of authenticity. Webby shook her head to clear it of any lingering Lena haze and checked her watch. Realizing that she’d be late to class if she didn’t shake a leg as well, she quickly hurried on her way.

Some hours later Webby met up with Lena outside their favorite dining hall. Webby liked it because there was a big open area behind it that was typically sparsely enough populated that she could practice her Krav maga moves before her afternoon sparring session. Lena liked it because there was a smoothie machine and the student workers let her put literally anything she wanted in it.

“Woah, save some of that energy for class,” Lena said before taking a loud slurp of her drink.

“Hi Lena!” Webby greeted her with a little wave as she lowered her leg. “What did you put in your smoothie today?”

“Strawberries, mango, and gummy worms.” Lena smirked a little at the involuntary expression that flashed across Webby’s face. “What? It’s not like I’m putting real worms in it. Shockingly, this is one of the few Louie recipes that isn’t awful.”

“It’s just not really a balanced lunch, that’s all.”

“Relax Pink, you know Beakley makes me eat a full breakfast and dinner every day and if she didn’t you would.” Lena took another pull on her straw. “I’m not going to get scurvy from drinking weird smoothies for lunch several times a week.”

“Scurvy is no joke. Your gums bleed all over the place and your eyes bulge out!”

“Which is exactly why I put lots of fruit in these things,” Lena explained, shaking her smoothie. “I do try to take care of myself, you know, but I’m also aware that if I were ever actually sick you’d nurse me back to health. So just don’t worry about me, Webby.”

“I can’t help it.”

“I know.”

There was a pause in the conversation and Webby scrambled for a new topic. It wasn’t that she couldn’t handle silence, she’d gotten a lot better at enjoying the silent moments with Lena than she had when they first met, but this was a slightly awkward one. She knew Lena hated it when she fussed over her, but Webby couldn’t help it. She’d always worry about her no matter what and since that was a fact of life that made her best friend uncomfortable she didn’t like to focus on it more than they had to.

“How was class for you today?”

“Pretty boring. I spent most of it thinking about cars for you,” Lena said. “With your tastes a hummer or a tank seems most appropriate if you weren’t going for some sort of environmentally responsible electric car like Huey.”

“Actually, I’ve already got a car in mind. It’s silly, but it was a childhood fantasy of mine,” Webby confessed, already feeling foolish the moment the words were out of her mouth. Lena wouldn’t make fun of her, but it’s not like she ever had childish fantasies; she never had a childhood.

“Well now I’m intrigued. Spill it!”

“You’re gonna laugh, but okay,” Webby paused to take a deep breath. “I wanted a two door hot pink Cheep Wrangler with a soft top and conservation plates. Ideally the ones that get you into state parks.”

Lena didn’t laugh. Instead her jaw hung open for a moment as she stared at her. Webby cringed. “Why on earth was a Cheep Wrangler your fantasy car? When we’re talking fantasy cars, that’s anything your imagination can come up with and the sky’s nowhere near the limit on your imagination. I would have thought you would want a robotic tyrannosaurus or something.”

“But that wouldn’t be a car any more.”

“Fine. A robot T Rex in roller skates.”

“That would be pretty cool,” Webby laughed.

“So, why a Cheep Wrangler?”

“Do you remember Gilmore Geese? It was that show about a goose raising her gosling without any gander’s help.”

“Vaguely. I think I caught parts of a few episodes here and there.” Lena frowned. “If it’s what I think it is I was bumming around Europe when that was airing and mostly caught it with an Italian dub.”

“Well, it was one of the only shows I was allowed to watch besides the nightly news. Granny let me watch it because it stressed the importance of an education over any boy. At least, I think that’s what the message was.” Webby shook her head. She had given up years ago trying to figure out when her Granny was trying to impart important life lessons without telling her or when she was just trying to cut loose and have a little fun. “Any way, I loved Lorelai and Rory, but my favorite thing in the show was Lorelai’s car. I coveted that car so much!”

“And let me guess, it was a hot pink two door Cheep Wrangler?”

“It was actually more of a tan-yellow, but yes it was a Cheep Wrangler!” Webby made grabbing motions as she remembered being a chick and trying to reach through the TV and touch the Cheep, even though she had been old enough to know that wouldn’t really work. “I was gonna grow up, get a Cheep Wrangler, finally leave home, and go on adventures! It’s a little car, but rugged like me, and there would be just enough room to throw a few days’ worth of gear in the backseat while my best friend rode next to me as we drove off into the sunset!”

Webby looked down and dug a toe into the dirt. “Of course, at the time the best friend was just as imaginary as the car, but I had hoped I’d make a friend by the time I grew up and then we could see the world together.”

“That’s what you wanted, huh?”

“Lorelai had Rory and her Cheep. While I never wanted to be a teen mom, I very much wanted that car. It symbolized so many things to me: grit, toughness, freedom, and exploration. Even now when I recognize their unique grillwork I get butterflies in my stomach because Cheeps are adventure on four wheels! That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Got it. That’s a totally legit reason to want a Cheep.” Lena slurped more of her smoothie. “Alright, go knock your instructor’s head off and I’ll catch up with you after class?”

“Sure thing,” Webby replied brightly, though she felt a little stung by Lena’s briskness. 

Usually they’d sit and chat for the better part of an hour for lunch. Today she hadn’t even hung out for ten minutes. Webby would understand if Lena had a paper to finish or a test to prep for, but she had her schedule memorized and there weren’t any major projects due for at least two more weeks and Lena never started working in earnest on anything until a week beforehand. So Webby didn’t get why she was leaving already. However, she also knew she was prone to prying into things that weren’t really her business and Webby wasn’t about to rock the boat that held her relationship with Lena. It was too precious to risk.

Webby went to class and she most certainly did not kick off her teacher’s head, though they had an excellent spar. Afterward she hit the showers then returned to her locker where she found Lena on her phone. It was a pleasant surprise, but very much a surprise, since Lena did not like locker rooms.

“Lena! What are you doing here?” Webby asked, nearly dropping her towel.

“Waiting for you,” Lena said, looking up from her phone. She had a small smile on her beak, but it dropped off her face when she saw her. “And it was weird of me to do that here. Sorry, I’ll go wait outside.”

“No, no, say! I always want you around; I just wasn’t expecting it right now, that’s all. Just let me get dressed,” Webby said, grabbing her wrist. Lena nodded and turned back to her phone, giving Webby a bit of privacy. Webby quickly pulled on her undergarments. “What’s the special occasion that got you to willingly enter a locker room? You always complain they smell like sweat and old feet.”

“There’s been a change in plans. We’re not going home with Launchpad right now.”

“No? What are we doing?” Webby asked as she finished securing her skirt. “Movies? Art show? Some indie band you like is having a gig in twenty minutes? Or are we exploring the sewer system?”

“None of the above. We’re going car shopping.”

“Seriously?” Webby asked, latching onto Lena’s arm.

“Yeah, Pink, I promised you a car and I aim to deliver,” Lena said. “I found an easy bus route to a Cheep dealership and I thought we could hit them up now. You know, unless you’d rather go home.”

“I’m game, but should we be going on our own?”

“What do you want Launchpad or the boys along?”

Images of smoking wrecks and cars bursting into flames immediately filled her head. Webby shook it vigorously to disperse the images.

“Or were you thinking of Violet or Beakley?” Lena asked. “I figured that since we knew what we wanted and already have our own funding we could do this with just the two of us, but if you want other people…”

“No! I like doing things just the two of us!” Webby laughed. “I don’t know what I was thinking suggesting other people because I like it when it’s just us.”

“I like it when it’s just us too,” Lena agreed. She reached over and squeezed the hand Webby still had clenched on her sleeve before pulling it off to interlock their fingers. “Do you still have more stuff to do in here or are you ready to go?”

Webby slammed her locker shut and reattached her lock. “I’m good. Let’s go.”

The bus ride to the dealership was non-eventful. Webby spent most of it leaning her head on Lena’s shoulder as they shared a pair of earbuds to listen to Lena’s latest discovery. It wasn’t exactly Webby’s cup of tea—a little more dour and depressive than she preferred her music nor was it something she could dance to—but the melody was pretty enough. It made for a relaxing ride and by the time they reached the dealership she was ready to tackle this new experience.

As soon as they entered the big glassy building Webby paused to take in her surroundings. There were half a dozen Cheeps of varying models in an otherwise mostly empty room. The ceiling was two to three times higher than Webby thought necessary, but it was a pleasant enough place of one liked modernly empty. That was true of its staffing as well, since it took her a little while to spot anyone who might be employed by the dealership.

“Should I go talk to her?” Webby whispered to Lena, not wanting to draw any undue attention as she nodded toward a purple haired beagle in a polo with a name tag.

“If you want. It’s your rodeo, Pink,” Lena said with a shrug. “I didn’t bother to call ahead, since you already know what you want.”

“Okay.” Webby nodded once to herself then marched up to the woman and stuck out her right hand. “Hi, I’m Webby!”

“Oh hey,” she said, jerking back a little before reaching for Webby’s hand. Perhaps she had been too forceful with the greeting again, but it seemed like she was always too much or not enough when making first impressions. “I’m—”

“—Just about to fetch you coffee, aren’t cha, Beth,” a mallard said as he physically inserted himself between the two women to shake Webby’s hand. The way he phrased it ought to have made it a question, but the tone made it clear it wasn’t—Webby had learned that from the boys—and she suspected it was supposed to be a dismissal. Webby didn’t like that. “If you’re here about a car, I’m the duck for you.”

Clearly Lena didn’t either, as she stuck a hand on her hip and glowered at him. “Why can’t Beth help us with a car? Webby picked her out.”

“Beth’s just an intern and not qualified for any real Cheep sales work,” he said. He let go of Webby’s hand, barely sparing her a glance, to loom into Lena’s personal bubble. This immediately left Lena grinding her teeth, as Webby was the only one freely allowed that close, but he didn’t seem to notice. “For that you need yours truly, Chad Drake. Do you need me to take you out for a test drive? Because I can set you up in the car of your dreams.”

“Why are you wiggling your eyebrows like that?” Webby asked. Chad’s bushy brows were doing their best to mimic aggressive giant caterpillars at the moment. It was fairly distressing to witness and she could totally understand why Lena seemed mildly revolted by them, but it wasn’t as bad as when they had faced down actual giant carnivorous caterpillars in that crypt last year.

“He’s trying to be smooth and failing miserably, Webby,” Lena sighed and shook her head.

“Oh!” Webby said. She wasn’t certain what about Chad’s behavior was supposed to be smooth, but Lena knew more about these things and she had said he was failing.

“Ouch!” Chad said, slapping a hand over his heart. “You wound me with your cruel words, fair lady. I’m simply trying to be friendly.”

“You’d be a lot friendlier if you took two big steps back,” Lena snapped. Chad did as suggested. In the process he crashed into Beth, who was just returning with a tray of coffee cups, and knocked all the liquid to the tile floor.

“Interns,” he tisked. Beth rolled her eyes and mumbled something about grabbing a mop. “I’m sorry about the coffee. Good help can be so difficult to find these days.” Then he shot Lena a wide grin.

“Webby, I was wrong; we don't want to buy a Cheep here,” Lena said. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Oh, come on, ladies, I have an absolutely perfect Cheep Renegade with your name on it,” Chad whined. “Don’t go! I need this sale to keep my job!”

Webby paused when she heard that. She didn’t particularly like Chad, but she didn’t want to cost him his job. Compassion was a good thing and Lena had always teased her about being soft hearted, so she didn’t follow Lena out of the dealership.

“We’re not interested in a Cheep Renegade,” Webby said.

“But you have to be,” Chad insisted, “It’s the perfect model for you and I’ve got a beauty sitting right out back.”

“But I’m not interested in a Renegade,” Webby said. She wasn’t certain how to make her position any clearer.

“If that creep isn’t letting you leave I’m throwing him and his tail feathers in the Shadow Realm,” Lena growled as she reentered the building. She pulled a scarred amulet out of her blazer pocket that Webby recognized instantly and rubbed a thumb along its surface threateningly. “Magic ban or not, nobody harms Webby.”

Webby beamed at Lena’s over protectiveness and quickly stepped into her path. She immediately shoved the amulet back into Lena’s pocket because nobody was getting cast into any alternate dimensions today, thank you very much, and put a hand on Lena’s chest to stop her.

“He didn’t force me to stay,” Webby quickly said. “I was just trying to explain what we wanted.”

“You don’t honestly want to buy from this tool, do you?” Lena demanded.

“No, but if we want to get a Cheep we may as well test drive one while we’re here. I’d rather not sit awkwardly on the dealership’s front porch while we wait for Launchpad or spend an hour waiting for the next bus after making this trip in vain. Besides, if we buy today we never have to see this guy again and I don’t really want to cost Chad his job.”

“Webby, you’re not going to cost him his job. If one sale is really going to make or break him he shouldn’t be in this line of business.”

“Please, Lena, you said this was my rodeo.”

“Urg, fine,” Lena groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “But if he starts ignoring you and sleazing on me again I’m taking drastic measures. You got that, Chadwick? She’s your customer, not me.”

“My name is Chad,” Chad mumbled.

“Whatever. At least I somewhat listened to what you were saying. You didn’t listen to a thing she said,” Lena said, jerking her thumb at Webby. She turned and smiled at Webby. “Now do you want to tell him what you’re looking for or do we go find a salesperson who is actually willing to listen to you?”

“We want a pink two door Cheep Wrangler,” Webby said. “I’m not certain which exact model we want, but that’s a good enough starting place.”

“Ah sure,” Chad said, still somewhat deflated. He pointed toward the opposite end of the building where Webby could see some Wranglers on display. “We’ll go discuss the builds.”

It took another half an hour to pry info about the various Wrangler models out of Chad. Webby’s patience, with a few veiled threats from Lena, eventually paid off and she found herself in the driver’s seat of a Wrangler Sport. It was comfier seat than the previous Cheeps she had ridden in—hoary old battle scarred Cheeps from adventures with Uncle Scrooge that had original bench seating from the 1940s in them—but it still wasn’t all that comfortable. Webby didn’t mind; adventure always required at least a little discomfort.

“I really think I should be in the front seat,” Chad said as he peered out of the back.

“And I think you should shut your beak,” Lena retorted. “This is a test drive, which means we’re simulating how we’d actually use this Cheep. That puts Webby in the driver’s seat while I ride shotgun. Everyone else gets the backseat.”

“I mean… you’re allowed to drive too, Lena,” Webby said. She wasn’t about to hog the Cheep, especially if they were sharing it.

“I know, but I trust you behind the wheel more than me,” Lena grinned.

With that established Webby shifted the idling engine into drive and left the lot. Driving it seemed… fine. Webby couldn’t exactly put it into words, but her first time driving a Cheep Wrangler wasn’t exactly the magical experience she had been expecting. Maybe it was Chad trying to direct where they went from the backseat. Or maybe it was Lena complaining about the lack of air conditioning—not that Webby considered this a flaw, she preferred open windows, but Lena liked to craft her windswept look by hand and not, well, by wind—and that was somewhat distracting. They certainly hadn’t featured in her fantasies like this.

It shouldn’t be that shocking to her when reality didn’t live up to expectation. While there was far more magic in Webby’s life than most, adulthood had rubbed the shine off a lot of childhood wonder for her. It made sense that driving a Cheep Wrangler would fall under this category. Typically speaking, driving was more of a chore than an adventure and she was finally accepting this fact in real time. 

So it wasn’t that surprising that Webby let out a self-pitying sigh as she pulled to a stop at a red light.

“What’s wrong, Pink? The Cheep isn’t everything you had hoped and dreamed?” Lena asked. “Don’t feel like you’re part of the Furious Fowl series?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it but—” The rest of Webby’s sentence was cut off by an exclamation from outside the car.

“It’s the McDuck brats!” shouted a skinny beagle in a green cap, orange shirt, and black eye mask. It was obviously a Beagle Boy and his two brothers beside him swiveled around to glare in the direction he was pointing, which was at them.

“Technically, that’s not right, since my family name is Vanderquack and I was never formally adopted by Uncle Scrooge, unlike Lena,” Webby said, but the Beagle Boys didn’t seem to be listening.

“What do we do, Big Time?” asked the massive Beagle Boy.

“What do you think, Bouncer?” Big Time demanded. “We get ‘em!”

Lena suddenly socked her in the arm.

“Oww! What was that for?” Webby demanded.

“It means punch it,” Lena hissed.

“But we’re at a red light.”

“I don’t care, they’re getting out of their car!”

Indeed, Big Time half out of the back of their truck cab dangling two feet off the ground. Webby knew that as soon as he let go of the door handle he’d cross the short distance between their vehicles and grab onto Lena. She should create as much space as quickly as possible, but she couldn’t run a red light and possibly cause a major accident. Bending traffic rules was one thing, but that would be completely shattering them with a potentially ruinous end.

Luckily the light turned green, ending the dilemma. Webby hit the gas and the Cheep lurched forward just as Big Time lunged to grab Lena. She watched him hit the asphalt in her rearview mirror as they rocketed across the intersection. Bouncer actually had to get out of the truck and pull Big Time back inside before they could give chase.

The further from the intersection they got the more Webby increased their speed. She could see the Beagle Boys were hot on their trail and she wasn’t about to let them drive her off the road. Another glance out her rear view mirror revealed that the Beagle Boys were a relatively safe distance, but there was a more immediate problem at hand. Namely that Chad was cowering in the back seat. Webby wasn’t certain why he was cowering, she didn’t think her driving was that outrageous, and a glance toward Lena proved her best friend seemed unaffected by whatever malady possessed Mallard.

“Are you doing okay, Lena?” Webby asked after they narrowly missed sideswiping a moving van.

“Never better!” Lena craned her neck around to stare at their pursuers. “You just keep your eyes on the road and I’ll deal with them if they get too close.”

She was about to ask how Lena was going to manage that when she noticed the dark purple orb of magic in her palm. Uncle Scrooge would definitely disapprove of her hurling magic at anyone one, even the Beagle Boys, which meant Webby had to keep them far enough apart Lena never had to. She could totally manage that.

Webby twisted the wheel around causing the Cheep to do a rubber burning U-turn and sent them hurtling toward the Beagle Boys. Chad screamed several octaves higher than Webby would have expected and Lena let off a string of expletives. No one had expected her to do that, not even the Beagle Boys and they seemed unable to react to the Cheep coming at them head on. Luckily Webby knew what she was doing and veered away at the last second, driving the all terrain vehicle over a low stone fence and into a park.

“Who the heck taught you to drive? Launchpad?” Lena demanded.

“No, if he had we would have crashed!”

She zipped them through a narrow section of the park before they hit a parking lot and drove back onto gravel. It didn’t throw the Beagle Boys off their trail, especially as they could see everything Webby had just done, but it did buy them a little space. She used that borrowed time to hit a main artery of Duckberg and make a beeline for the outskirts of town. Anything to cut down on the likelihood they might hit someone by accident.

At the moment Webby wished her granny had found the time to give her the advanced driving maneuver lessons she had promised after Webby had gotten her license. However, the girls were improvising quite well without the prior training. Webby slid the Cheep through traffic like a hot knife through butter, though things did get a bit jerky when trying to pass a massive semi at one point. She was happy they only had the two-door model since the extra length of a four-door would have cut off some of their escape options. What Webby was most proud of was that—save for severing the cord attached to a harpoon Big Time shot through their bumper—Lena never got a reasonable excuse of force to use magic on the Beagle Boys.

“You know, it would be nice if this thing could accelerate a little better,” Lena grumbled. “They’re back on our tail feathers already.”

“True, but you felt how it handled that little wall. We barely felt it.”

“But how often are we going to be driving over walls?”

“This is us, Lena.”

“Okay, point, but I mean in comparison to being literally chased by something.”

“That does happen a lot,” Webby admitted, “but usually only when we’ve got Uncle Scrooge or the boys with us. Otherwise we typically get to explore in peace. Plus I’m hoping to do a capstone excavation course next summer and that means covering a lot of rough terrain!”

“How rough do you think that’s going to be?” Lena demanded, coming alert as she leaned forward and pointed at a rapidly rising bridge in their path. “Turn off, Webby, the Cheep’s not going to make it!”

Chad made a horrified clucking groan while Webby gritted her teeth and scanned her escape options. Considering how close the truck was there really wasn’t a good option. Left took them rapidly into a closed warehouse door or off the pier, while right sent them into the perfect ambush point and she was certain the Beagle Boys had called for backup. That meant the best path was the one Webby typically favored, straight and through extreme odds.

“Yes we will!” Webby declared and stomped the accelerator into the floorboard. 

The engine’s whining increased by a magnitude as all the dials on the dash skyrocketed. At the same time the little Cheep surged forward and up the rapidly inclining bridge, bouncing a little as it went. It reminded Webby a little of a migrating salmon. That image in her head caused her to giggle a little, letting out some of her tension, but it must have sounded absolutely maniacal to the others as they stared at her in horror.

“Webby—” Lena began, but whatever else she was going to say was lost as the Cheep’s front wheels left the asphalt.

The rest of the car soon followed. Webby experienced a second of weightlessness as they soared across the widening gap. Then gravity kicked in and her stomach dropped along with the rest of the car. They hit the other side of the bridge, but only with the front half of the car. Luckily Webby never lifted her foot off the accelerator and the Wrangler struggled to climb over the edge of the bridge as it continued rising. There was a long terrifying moment when it seemed like the Cheep wouldn’t keep its grip and they’d all tumble into the water below. However, the tires and engine were both brand new and eventually beat the bridge, pulling them up and over the edge, though there was a metallic screeching noise that singled some part of the vehicle being ripped off the undercarriage. Webby hoped it wasn’t important.

The Beagle Boys did not attempt the jump. The gap had widened far too much for their truck to follow. So they simply stopped and shouted dire threats at the girls. Both Webby and Lena stuck out their tongues at the criminals and cackled wildly as they sped away.

Webby slowed the Cheep to a legal speed and set a direct course back to the dealership. This had been an excellent test of the vehicle’s capabilities, but it was time to finish the drive and she wasn’t quite sure what to do about the sobbing mess in the backseat that used to be a salesman. As soon as the dealership came back into view billows of thick black smoke emitted from the Cheep. Webby was fairly certain that meant something under the hood was on fire. While it might be cool to watch it explode, the driver’s seat was probably the worst place to experience that particular event.

With extreme care Webby pulled into the Cheep dealership’s parking lot and came to a stop as far away from the other cars as she could. If it did explode she didn’t want to set off some sort of chain reaction. As soon as she put the car into park she turned off the engine, though the smoking continued.

“I guess we found your inner Furious Fowl after all,” Lena said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

“Yeah, though I don’t think I really needed it,” Webby admitted as she took off her own seatbelt as well.

They both slid out of the Cheep. When Chad didn’t follow suit, Webby folded her seat back and pulled the mallard out of the car. She dragged him out of the potential blast zone and left him slumped against the side of the building. He didn’t say a word, which suggested that he wasn’t in any state to complain about the car’s condition.

“He really couldn’t keep up with us. Maybe he’ll think twice about underestimating ladies in the future,” Lena said. She sighed and grabbed Webby’s hand before leading her back into the dealership. “Come on, let’s find someone else to sell us a car inside.”

“Oh Lena, that was fun and I always like showing up the Beagle Boys, but you don’t need to buy me a car!” Webby insisted. “That’s too much!”

“Webby, I’m trying to do a stupidly big romantic gesture here,” Lena grumbled, slapping her palm against her forehead. “That’s why I’m buying you your childhood dream car.”

“You beautiful idiot! Just having you in my life fulfills more childhood fantasies than I can count and I can count really high! I don’t need a Cheep Wrangler for adventure when I have you!”

“Also, I’d like to not have to rely on Launchpad or the bus for transportation and you for sure have lower insurance rates than I would.”

“Okay fair.”

“Hey,” Lena turned to look at same beagle Webby had tried to talk to when they first entered the dealership. “Can we talk to you about a sale? Your coworker seems to still be in mid meltdown.”

“Oh. Of course,” Beth said, rising from her chair. “It’s kind of a shame you trashed that Cheep, but the dealership would expect you to buy it now.”

“Yeah, we could totally pay for that, though the Beagle Boys are the ones who caused the damage. I think insurance will have to sort that out,” Lena said, waving a hand dismissively at the smoking wreck, which then burst into flames. She grinned at Webby and wrapped an arm around. “No, what we want is a two-door hot pink Cheep Wrangler Sport S with a soft top, and conservation plates.”

“A Sport S? Really?” Webby asked. The Sport they had just adventured with seemed perfectly fine to her. 

“Sue me, I want air conditioning.” Lena shot her a wicked grin and Webby found herself unable to argue. Lena maintained eye contact with her for a moment longer before turning her attention back to Beth. “And I want the vehicle charged to my McDuck card. Can you do that?”

“I believe so. Yes,” Beth said, nodding as she stared at the McDuck Enterprises corporate credit card Lena held out. They were exceedingly rare with no known limit—which explained their rarity—and only issued by Scrooge McDuck himself. Webby was dying to know what Lena had done to receive one and get a chance to examine it for herself.

“Cool. Did I leave anything out about the car, Webby?” Lena asked.

“No, but are you sure you should be using that card?” Webby asked. “Uncle Scrooge would only want that used in an emergency.”

“Well, that’s an emergency,” Lena said, pointing at the smoldering hunk of metal out front that immediately burst into flames, which set off a minor panic in the lot. “And even buying two Cheeps with all the bells and whistles, which neither of these are, would still be far cheaper than Dewey’s sixteenth birthday present, which lasted as a functional replica of the Furious Fowl car for all of six hours in his care, not to mention the rest of the cars the triplets have destroyed over the years. If you promised him the boys would never be left in the car unattended, much less allowed in the driver’s seat, I bet Uncle Scrooge would hand you the keys himself.”

Webby was sure that was an exaggeration, but Lena did have a point. As new cars went a Cheep Wrangler wasn’t absurdly expensive. Plus she knew that going forward she planned on doing most, if not all, of the repairs herself since that would be a fun pet project for her. Scrooge would appreciate that and he had come to trust their judgment over the years. Even concerning money—some of the time; within reason.

Even with an immediate form of payment it took almost an hour for Lena and Webby to fill out all the paperwork related to buying a car. Seeing both their legal names listed on the title gave her a warm fuzzy feeling in her chest and Webby almost burst with excitement at the thought of seeing their new vehicle. When Beth brought their Cheep around to the front for them Webby went completely still. Lena had to gently elbow her to get her to start breathing again.

“What do you think, Pink?” Lena asked.

“It’s perfect,” Webby whispered, not completely certain today was real. 

They climbed into the Cheep, Webby in the driver’s seat and Lena riding shotgun. As soon as their seatbelts were buckled Lena stashed the paperwork in the glove box and handed Webby a set of keys. Almost reverently Webby slid the key into the ignition and twisted it. The engine roared to life before settling into a comforting purr.

“You ready for an adventure?” Lena asked.

Webby grinned. “Always.”


End file.
